In open source software communities, knowledge organization infrastructure (KOI) — centered around platforms like GitHub — facilitates everything from contribution guidelines to project tracking and artifact management. But what happens when communities are not as clearly structured or governed by software-centric tools?
This talk delves into the critical role of KOI in structuring how communities produce, organize, access, and maintain quality control over knowledge objects. Exploring KOI through two distinct lenses — a systems engineering firm and a social science research non-profit — this session will provide insights into designing and implementing KOI within non-software settings.
Following an introduction to the principles of KOI, we’ll examine the specific architectures and current practices in these organizations, focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities in adapting KOI frameworks to non-software domains.
Session highlights:
- Learn the principles of KOI and how they apply outside of traditional software tools.
- Explore real-world KOI architectures from both a systems engineering firm and a social science nonprofit.
- Gain insights into the challenges and solutions for structuring information and maintaining quality control in diverse communities.
About Michael Zargham
Dr. Michael Zargham is the founder and Chief Engineer at BlockScience, a systems engineering firm focused on digital public infrastructure. He is also a Board Member and Research Director at the US-based non-profit, Metagov — a community of practice focused on digitally mediated self-governance. He is also an advisory council member at NumFocus. Dr. Zargham’s research focus is on formal methods in mechanism, market, and institution design with methods from Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and influences from Institutional Analysis and Design (IAD) and Organizational Cybernetics. Zargham holds a PhD in Electrical and Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on Optimal Dynamic Resource Allocation Policies.
About the Open Source Architect (OSA) Community
The OSA community connects software architects and seasoned technical leaders who are passionate about open source technology. The OSA community is powered by OpenTeams, the host of this event. Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14408944/
